What are the requirements for upgrading from A3 to A1 driver's license?
2 Answers
To upgrade from A3 to A1, you must have held an A3 driver's license for at least 5 years, with no record of accumulating 12 penalty points within those 5 years. Additionally, you must not have been involved in a traffic accident resulting in death with equal or greater responsibility, not have driven under the influence of alcohol, and not have had your driver's license revoked or canceled within the past ten years. According to Article 15 of the "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses": If you already hold a motor vehicle driver's license and wish to apply for an additional driving category, you must not have accumulated 12 penalty points in the current scoring cycle or the most recent scoring cycle before applying. To upgrade your license, you must visit the local vehicle management office to apply for the additional driving category. You can obtain the new license only after passing the required exams. The "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses" state the following: To apply for an additional medium-sized bus driving category, you must have held a license for driving city buses, large trucks, small cars, small automatic transmission cars, low-speed trucks, or three-wheeled vehicles for at least three years, with no record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the three most recent consecutive scoring cycles before applying. To apply for an additional tractor driving category, you must have held a medium-sized bus or large truck driving license for at least three years, or a large bus driving license for at least one year, with no record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the three most recent consecutive scoring cycles before applying. To apply for an additional large bus driving category, you must have held a city bus, medium-sized bus, or large truck driving license for at least five years, or a tractor driving license for at least two years, with no record of accumulating 12 penalty points in the five most recent consecutive scoring cycles before applying. The following circumstances disqualify you from upgrading to A1: According to Article 16 of the "Regulations on the Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driver's Licenses": You cannot apply for large buses, tractors, city buses, medium-sized buses, or large trucks if: You have been involved in a traffic accident resulting in death with equal or greater responsibility; You have driven under the influence of alcohol; Your driver's license has been revoked or canceled within the past ten years. Requirements for upgrading to A1: Height: At least 155 cm; Vision: Naked or corrected visual acuity of at least 5.0 on the logarithmic visual acuity chart; Color vision: No red-green color blindness; Hearing: Ability to distinguish the direction of sound with each ear at 50 cm from a tuning fork; Upper limbs: Both thumbs must be intact, and each hand must have at least three other fingers intact, with normal limb and finger movement; Lower limbs: Both legs must be intact with normal movement, and the length difference must not exceed 5 cm; Torso and neck: No movement dysfunction; Age: Between 22 and 60 years old.
I just completed the process of upgrading my driver's license from A3 to A1, and I think understanding the requirements clearly is crucial. You need to hold an A3 license for at least two years, as this is the basic experience threshold; you must be at least 22 years old to ensure psychological maturity; and you cannot have a full score of traffic violation points in the two consecutive scoring periods before applying. Then, you enroll in a formal driving school to learn how to drive large buses, with training covering both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. The exam consists of four parts: Subject 1 (written traffic rules test), Subject 2 (field driving test), Subject 3 (road test), and Subject 4 (safety and civics test). The entire process may take three to four months, with costs varying by several thousand yuan. I found the road test the most challenging—large vehicles have a wide turning radius, so mastering emergency braking techniques is essential. If everything goes smoothly, after the upgrade, you can drive long-distance buses, which opens up more job opportunities. But you need to be patient and take it step by step.
